The white jersey is often not the most exciting battle in the Tour de France and that will be no different in 2022. The top favorite for the Tour de France, Tadej Pogacar, is still participating in the battle for the youth classification. In the leader’s jersey looked for the other young currants, who were born after January 1, 1997, in the porridge.
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Last winners white jersey Tour de France
2021 Tadej Pogacar
2020 Tadej Pogacar
2019 Egan Bernal
2018 Pierre Latour
2017 Simon Yates
2016 Adam Yates
2015 Nairo Quintana
2014 Thibaut Pinoto
2013 Nairo Quintana
2012 Tejay van Garderen
10. Quinn Simmons – Trek-Segafredo (8.3%)
Well, whether everyone in this list really has a chance: we have a hard head about it. Still, in the last two Grand Tours, the eventual winner of the boys’ jersey was in tenth place on our list. Both Juan Pedro López (Giro 2022) and Gino Mäder (Vuelta 2021) were not the big favorites for the youth classification, but eventually won.
The chance that Quinn Simmons going this far in this Tour is almost nil, but we must also include this type of riders in our top ten. We certainly expect some attack work from Simmons, now and certainly in the future. But he should be happy if he can finish this Tour at the age of 21.
9. Georg Zimmermann – Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert (15.6%)
What is true for Simmons is, in a sense, also true for Georg Zimmermann† The German already rode the Tour de France last year and then finished in eighty place in the final classification. Not nearly enough to be a serious candidate for White this season, but that’s okay either.
Zimmermann will certainly show himself again in the early flights, while he also does his bit uphill for the classification leader of Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert, the South African climber Louis Meintjes.
8. Andreas Kron – Lotto Soudal (20.9%)
At spot eight we have Andreas Kron by Lotto Soudal. The puncher is in his second good season with the Belgian formation and saw that being awarded – haha - with an invitation to the Tour de France selection. A nice boost, as the Tour will start in Denmark, Kron’s native country.
Kron will focus on the leading groups in the transition stages and the mountain stages and therefore has fast legs to finish it, but probably falls short in the really tough stages. He did, however, finish well in the most recent Tour of Switzerland, only to test positive for corona. However, Kron just makes it to the start of the Tour.
7. Andrea Bagioli – Quick Step-Alpha Vinyl (21.9%)
Andrea Bagioli is another man who will focus on the escape attempts in the transition stages and in this way can now and then make a step in the standings. However, it seems impossible to us that he also finishes in the top twenty, for example: with such young riders you never know.
Bagioli, and also teammate Mikkel Honoré, is a young lad who won a spot in the selection of Quick Step-Alpha Vinyl in the most recent Critérium du Dauphiné. There he finished sixteenth, after having already won a stage in the Tour of Catalonia earlier this year.
6. Tom Pidcock – INEOS Grenadiers (35.4%)
The next puncher on this list is Tom Pidcock, although in principle he does have the potential to compete for final victories in the Tour de France in the long term. However, Pidcock mainly does what he likes and at the moment that mainly consists of sprinting up short hills and racing without stress.
As the winner of the Baby Giro and with his weight/power, he undoubtedly has the potential to do well uphill, but at the moment that is mainly supported by his three leaders Daniel Felipe Martínez, Geraint Thomas and Adam Yates. The Tour as a learning school; that’s how it seems to be this year for Pidcock.
5. Andreas Leknessund – Team DSM (56.2%)
Of Andreas Leknessund from Team DSM we are gradually getting to the better classification riders in this list. The man from Norway won a stage in the Tour of Switzerland, and eventually finished thirteenth in the general classification. Earlier there were places of honor in Paris-Nice (eleventh) and the UAE Tour (eighteenth).
For the upcoming Tour de France, Leknessund and his Team DSM seem to be mainly aiming for stage victories, as they also did in Switzerland. Nevertheless, Leknessund can now and then move up some places in the final standings, in order to take a distant place of honour.
4. Matteo Jorgenson – Movistar (58.3%)
With the biggest podium candidates in sight, we are at Matteo Jorgenson, one of the talented Americans came out. The red-haired American is regarded as a very versatile driver at Movistar, where, despite his young age, he is already heavily counted on. It will be Jorgenson’s first Tour de France, after he had to miss the Giro due to a torn hamstring.
Despite that hamstring, Jorgenson continued to drive in Paris-Nice, causing himself – despite the displayed character – considerably more damage. In the Critérium du Dauphiné he was back on track, with a thirteenth place in the final standings as a result. Jorgenson seems to get a free role in the upcoming Tour, next to leader Enric Mas.
3. Michael Storer – Groupama FDJ (65.6%)
Michael Storer is the first Australian on this list. Storer made the switch from Team DSM to Groupama-FDJ last winter, where he will be deployed in this Tour as a climber alongside David Gaudu and Thibaut Pinot. It is not yet known what exactly the plans and ambitions are for Storer.
It seems that, just like in last year’s Vuelta, he is going for stage victories and perhaps the mountains classification, but also that way he can move up considerably in the last week in the general classification and therefore also the battle for the youth jersey.
2. Brandon McNulty – UAE Team Emirates (70.9%)
The last two places are reserved for drivers of the same team: UAE-Team Emirates. The first of these is Brandon McNulty, who will act as a luxury servant or shadow leader of Tadej Pogacar in the upcoming Tour de France. McNulty will start his second Tour, after finishing 69th last year.
In 2022, the North American has already shown some beautiful things. He has already won on Mallorca, in Paris-Nice and in the Faun-Ardéche and he took places of honor in various stage races. Is that the prelude to a top ten in the Tour de France or does Pogacar need him badly for the big work?
1. Tadej Pogacar – UAE Team Emirates (100%)
Well who’s going Tadej Pogacar love the victory in the youth classification… it is almost inevitable that the Slovenian takes the white jersey in the Tour for the third time in a row. Only a heavy fall seems to be a cause of that scenario.
We are not assuming that for the time being, and so Pogacar is, in addition to being the top favorite for yellow, also the biggest contender for white. However, it doesn’t make the battle for this uniform any more exciting.
Tom van der Salm (Twitter: @TomvanderSalm) | e-mail: [email protected])
